Perugino Laboratory: Cory Perugino, DO

About the Perugino Laboratory

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) represent two conditions defined by autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, multi-organ involvement, and tissue damage related to fibrosis. While B and T cell responses have been implicated in both diseases, the underlying antigenic drivers, HLA risk alleles, and clinical phenotypes clearly distinguish once disease from the other.

SSc is a severe condition and remains the rheumatologic disease with the highest excess mortality. The Perugino Laboratory focuses on identifying the peptides that drive T cell activation in SSc and the characterizing the phenotype of both tissue-infiltrating and circulating antigen-specific B and T cells. The ultimate goals are to develop precise tools for measuring disease activity, guide the design of clinical trials, and establish a foundation for targeted treatments that avoid broad immunosuppression.

IgG4-RD, a more recently described immune-mediated fibrotic disease, currently lacks a definitive diagnostic test or reliable biomarker for disease activity. In collaboration with the Pillai Laboratory at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard, our research seeks to uncover the self-antigen signatures and genetic risk factors that drive this disease.

Research Projects

• Defining pathogenic B cells in systemic sclerosis
• Determining the antigen specificity of cytotoxic T cells in systemic sclerosis
• Investigating regulatory T cell dysfunction in systemic sclerosis and IgG4-related disease
• Screening the human proteome to identify antigenic drivers of IgG4-related disease

Group Members

Principal Investigator

Cory Perugino, DO

Research Team

• Laura Yockey, MD, PhD, postdoctoral fellow
• Ian Doyle, research technician
• Jesse Akaa, research technician
• Federica Bonaso, visiting postdoctoral fellow